Charles Island—Castle Harbor, Bermuda

“East End Snorkeling” Excursion out of St. George’s

Ship: Zenith (Celebrity Cruises)

Sailing Date: June 29, 2002

Date of Snorkel: July 3, 2002

Equipment Availability: we have our own which we take with us, but snorkels, masks, fins and vests are provided on board, well rinsed in cleaning solution.

Water Access: From the Boat or from the Beach

This is the common destination for snorkeling excursions out of St. George’s for passengers off cruise ships.  It is an extremely popular snorkeling site and this should be no surprise—it is a PERFECT spot both for beginners as well as for advanced snorkelers.  For beginners, there is a gently sloping beach along the sheltered side of Charles Island that is adjacent to where the boat anchors, allowing shallow water with very little wave action in which to learn to snorkel (and/or swim!). For advanced snorkelers, the area between Charles Island and a small skerry to the east of it offers deeper water (up to 15 to 20 feet) with lots of reef area and an incredible variety of fish!  The boat crew swim down and “provision” the fish naturally by turning over rocks on the bottom so that the fish are drawn to the supply of fresh algae.  On our excursion day there was some wave action in the area between Charles Island and the skerry, but not enough to spoil the swim or the sites to behold underwater.

The reef area between Charles Island and the skerry is very well developed with lots of brightly colored corals.  Purple fan corals predominate, but there is lots of brain coral and other varieties as well.  Fish were incredibly prolific and included Stoplight Parrot Fish, Queen Parrot Fish and Bermuda’s own monster Parrot Fish, the Gillenborg.  We also saw lots of Blue Angel Fish, Queen Angel Fish and Peg’s first Blue Parrot fish—a really big one that swam off quickly after posing for a photograph! Sergaent Majors, other Damsel Fish, Squirrel Fish and Cardinals were abundant as well.

On the ride back to the ship, the boat makes a small detour to show off Ross Perot’s vacation home overlooking Castle Bay Harbor.

Snorkeling Grade: A+